


At the Drowned Nest

by KingofTerrors



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 12:09:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15000581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingofTerrors/pseuds/KingofTerrors
Summary: After the rigours of the Labenda Swamp and the scant comfort of the previous night at the Keystone Pub, the Mighty Nein bed down in slightly more salubrious surroundings. Tonight Jester gets to test out a new spell, but when things don't go quite as planned, Beau is there to offer what comfort she can.





	At the Drowned Nest

**Author's Note:**

> Just a simple little piece because we didn't get to see the aftermath of the 'sending' spell when Jester talked to her mom. A little bit of Jester hurt and Beau comfort to brighten your day.

“This is more fuckin’ like it.” Beau threw her pack down and sprawled full length on the bed. One of two beds. Two whole beds! Not that the cuddle pile in the Keystone Pub hadn’t been, y’know, fine, but this was streets ahead.

She sighed as she laced her fingers behind her head. “I mean, look at this. Beds plural. A window. Not half an inch of stagnant water on the floor. It’s fuckin’ luxury, man.”

Jester gazed around. “It’s not bad, I guess.”

Kiri pushed through the door after Jester, and squeezed past to run straight to the second bed. The little Kenku jumped up and nestled into the covers without a word. Almost immediately her bright eyes began to close, and within half a minute she was asleep.

Jester perched on the edge of the bed and tucked her in. The tiefling’s gaze was fond as she gently stroked the Kiri’s head, fingers sliding over smooth black feathers. “She looks so peaceful.” Her voice was soft.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Beau said. “That little demon must have kicked me twenty times last night.”

The use of the ‘d’ word earned her a sharp glance from Jester, and she immediately tried to backpedal. “That is… I mean…”

Jester just shrugged, making a ‘forget it’ motion with her hand. “You probably deserved it.”

“I mean… you’re not wrong. But tonight things’re going to be different. She’ll only have you to kick. This space is alllll miiiiine.”

Jester smiled. “She can kick me all she wants. I don’t care.” She undid the brooch at her throat and let her cloak slide free, deftly folding it ready for the morning.

“Sleep well, Beau.”

“You too.” Beau pulled her own coat off, leaving it in an untidy heap on the floor, and climbed into the bed and under the covers.

She had been expecting Jester to do the same, so a couple of minutes later when the oil lamp was still merrily burning, Beau rolled over ready to protest.

“Look Jester, you might…”

She stopped. Jester wasn’t tucked up with Kiri. Instead, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, a shining pearl clasped between her hands, staring intently at it. Beau shut up and watched with interest.

The tiefling’s head jerked abruptly, and her eyes refocused as she tucked the pearl away into a pocket and pulled a fine piece of copper wire out of her belt pouch. She held it between finger and thumb, whispering under her breath as her free hand moved in some kind of sinuous gesture. Still staring at the wire, Jester began to speak.

“Hi Mom!” Her voice was quiet, clearly pitched to try to avoid disturbing Kiri, but her excitement was clear. The next words poured out of her like a dam bursting. “I got this new spell! I want to say thank you for that package you sent me I know that it was really hard for you to do that and I love you so much and I hope everything’s ok with you and I got your letter and the ink and I think it’s so…”

Beau grimaced. She didn’t know much about Jester’s magic, but she was pretty sure there was a word limit in there somewhere. That was a lot of words.

It seemed to have occurred to Jester too, as she trailed off, listening intently. Suddenly her eyes widened, and her mouth opened in a silent ‘O’ of surprise. Beau couldn’t hear anything, but Jester was clearly listening to something. 

“I…” Jester frowned, her hands clasping and unclasping involuntarily. “Oh no! I can’t…”

But then she fell silent again, listening. The expressions that crossed her face made Beau’s heart clench. Looks of pure delight, bittersweet chagrin, disappointment and frustrated defeat chased across Jester’s features, culminating in the wire falling from Jester’s fingers as she stared into the distance, brows furrowed in longing and sadness.

Beau pushed herself up onto her elbow, trying to find the words to comfort her friend. Was it that fucking word limit that had defeated her? Start with that… “Maybe next time if you write down… the… the words?”

Jester glanced over at her, and the recognition in her eyes gave Beau renewed confidence. Yeah, that must be it. “So you can like, know which are the most important words,” she continued. “Yeah.”

Jester nodded. “Okay, I need to tell her I got her package…” She dug through her bag, dragged out pencil and notebook and started writing furiously.

“O… okay.”

“Okay, yeah.” The writing continued. “Okay okay okay.”

Beau watched as the frantic scribbling slowed by degrees over the next few minutes until Jester was still again, just sitting hunched over her notebook.

“That was your mom, huh.”

Jester didn’t move. 

“Yeah… I know… I know how much you wanted to talk to her.”

Slowly, Beau slid out of the bed and padded over to where Jester was perched. She sat down beside her, and hesitantly reached out. She had tried this as a shit pick up effort, but never with a friend, and it felt weird. Screwing up her courage she pushed through the weirdness and put her arm gently around Jester’s shoulders.

“Guess it kinda sucks. Not bein’ able to say what you wanna say.”

Jester still didn’t say anything, but Beau felt her relax minutely and lean into the side hug a little more. They stayed like that for a minute or so.

“Um…” Beau looked down at the top of Jester’s head against her shoulder, dark blue waves of hair swept around curled horns. The tip of one of the horns was just in the wrong place, digging into Beau’s collarbone. “So… I better get to bed…”

“Can you…” Jester still didn’t look up. “Could you stay? In this one?”

“Like the other night?”

The smallest nod.

When the morning came, the first sunlight fell on a guttering oil lamp, still unextinguished, and a muddled pile of two humans and a baby kenku, sheets entwined around them, all gently snoring.


End file.
